Portrait
by Arteme
Summary: [Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle] A few expansions on those "almost" KuroFai moments in the manga. [KuroFai][Shounen-ai]
1. Picture Perfect

**Picture Perfect  
**_Chapitre Seven_

"Not a very good listener, is he?" Fai remarks.

Just like that it begins. A rough hand flies out in front of him, a casual sign of protection. It's what he's been looking for, and for a moment his secretive, adult smile changes into an expression of surprise as he watches the other man with the spiky black hair step forward, arrogance in his every movement. If he could paint it, he would; Kurogane's strength, that is. It's what he had desired in himself for so long, that picture perfect strength so carefree and unbreakable. Kurogane's kind of like that, picture perfect in every way.

"I've been pretty bored here," the red eyed warrior calls out to Syaoran's tubby aggressor. "I'll take you on!"

Fai shares a amused expression with Mokona. "Kurogane's been looking forward to this! He wasn't bored at all!" The small creature pipes up from Fai's shoulder.

Fai nods in agreement, "The Hanshin Republic is just his style, huh?"

Even in this short time they've known one another, Kurogane has become so easy to read. Partly because he's so honest. It's an honesty that Fai rather envies.

And then the battle begins, and everything is lost in chaos. Still, Fai thinks, perhaps…

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**N o t e s** Oh yes, it's the dreaded present tense. I've got a bunch of little blurbs like this written out, so I can update this rather regularly. For those of you waiting for River of Sins, my RK fic, I'm almost done on the next chapter, and depending on how tired I end up, it should be posted within the hour.


	2. Floating on Air

**Floating on Air  
**_Chapitre Nine_

Kurogane watches him soar through the air, each movement perfect and almost imperceptible. It's the nervous aura of the kid beside him that makes him rather twitchy, he tells himself, unwilling to admit that inwardly he's slightly unsettled.

"Look at that damn grin," he mutters to himself, "that man is a combat veteran." He doesn't want to admit that he's mildly annoyed that Fai hadn't told him about his experience, because to admit that he's mildly annoyed is to say that he cares about the cursed blonde.

He continues to watch the batter, his crimson eyes tracing Fai's every movement.

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**N o t e s **Thank you to Ranma Higurashi and Somnorexic for the reviews, and I do plan to continue. Oh, and note, I used moderately tweaked DelRey translations for the sake of being uniform. 


	3. Watching

**Watching  
**_Chapitre Twelve_

They both watch the boy through the small doorway, knowing already what will happen. They've both been down that road before. They both understand loss and loneliness in that way that the mature do.

Her emerald eyes open and a question pops out, "who are you?"

They can both see his devastation, it's as plain as day. They know how his hearts breaking when he replies "I'm called Syaoran. And you…you are her highness, princess Sakura." The rest of his words are lost to them, because while they remain watching, they close off their ears from the sorrow, until they see it's almost too much for him to bear, and with a resolved smile Fai heads in to break the tension.

"Princess Sakura," He says in a voice filled with artificial joy, "I'm pleased to make your acquaintance. My name is Fai D. Flowright." He pauses dramatically, hoping to relieve some of the tension with laughter, "and may I present-"

Before there is a chance to give him some ridiculous nickname, Kurogane speaks. "I'm Kurogane."

Platitudes are exchanged as the boy walks out to stand alone, defeated, in the rain. There would be discussion later, but for now all they can do is remain with Sakura.

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**N o t e s** thanks to Animegoil, Skweeshy, sugahcat, Ranma Higurashi and Jenny for the reviews. Great self-esteem boosters those things are. 


	4. Weakness and Strength

**Weakness and Strength**

_Chapitre Twelve_

"At that moment, I was sure…he would cry. It seems that Sakura-chan is the most important person in the world to Syaoran-kun. So when she said, 'who are you?' I felt certain he would cry." Fai stares longingly out the window at the lonely figure in the pouring rain. "I wonder if he's crying now." Crying in the rain, where tears are indiscernible from the cold droplets of water that spatter your face.

"Don't know," Kurogane replies gruffly, "but if he wants to keep from crying, he'll just have to get stronger. Strong enough so that _he_ won't be the one crying in the end." Kurogane recalls those times when he was the lost little boy crying outside in the pouring rain. He recalls those times, and then banishes them from his consciousness, for that is _his_ strength. To him tears are equivalent to weakness.

Fai's smile is soft and melancholy. "Yes, but…I also think there's a certain strength that's needed to be able to cry when you should." Fai also recalls old days when he would cry, and he recalls the transformation when he lost his ability to cry. To him tears are a sign of strength.

…but weakness and strength seem to matter so little when cast in the light of sadness.

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**Notes: **Thanks to Turntable Aurora, Skweeshy, Ranma Higurashi and Jenny. This is rather a continuation of the last one. You have my gratitude.


End file.
